Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel has praised Fabio Silva for his impact off the bench again in their 3-2 win over Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
The Portuguese teed up Serhou Guirassy in the 80th minute for 2-1, marking their second direct involvement for a goal in just four days.
Earlier on in the second half, Renato Veiga had struck an own goal off Maximilian Beier's cross to put Dortmund in front although Santiago Mourinho equalized for Villarreal shortly after from a corner.
Kobel, who conceded two goals for the second game in a row, acknowledged that BVB had to fight hard for the win but ultimately deserved all three points.
"It was a hard-fought victory. I don’t know if it was a grind-it-out win. We played good soccer at times today as well. But yes, it got a little tense again toward the end. It was a good game, and I think we deserved the three points."
Following a rather cagey first half which albeit saw both teams come close once, the match exploded after the break and Guirassy saw two shots saved before he finally made it 2-1 for BVB in the 80th minute.
Jobe Bellingham found Fabio Silva inside the box and the Portuguese then sent a long ball across the face of the goal for Guirassy to tap home.
Having now extended his prolific run of making one direct goal-contribution in a match to four games, Kobel hailed the 24-year-old in high regard:
"Fabio [Silva] is on fire. He brings great energy to the game. He was lively today, ran a lot, and threatened from his first touch on the ball. It’s fun playing with him. When he plays like this, he’s very, very dangerous."
Before the Villarreal game, Silva had scored once in all three appearances this season: against Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, HEBC in the DFB-Pokal, and Hoffenhim in the Bundesliga.
Although that run ended on Tuesday, he still made a big impact by creating their second goal here, opening his assist account for the season.
He's been on a strong run of form this season after struggling to justify his 22.5 million euro price tag last term whilst playing second-fiddle to Guirassy.
Although he still hasn't nailed down a starting berth, Silva is fast becoming an impact substitute; a valuable asset off the bench for Borussia Dortmund.
Add us as a preferred source on Google